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Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Today sees the publication of what is surely the century's most significant zoological discovery. After decades of searching, Africa's mystery Congolese swamp monster, the Mokele-Mbembe, has been discovered - it is a living sauropod dinosaur, and it radically alters our understanding of archosaur phylogeny, sauropod biology and diversity, and indeed the evolutionary process as a whole.

In early 1995 I had a pen-friend from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe who knew I was interested in the Kongamato. On February 13th 1995 Sithembile Ncube (my pen-pal`s name) sent me some notes written by her brother which at the time I thought referred to the Kongamato, (see accompanying illustration by myself ) but most probably doesn`t. According to Coleman and Clark in Cryptozoology A-Z:

“When Melland [in his book Witchbound Africa, 1923-R] asked local informants about the Kongamato, he was told it was a huge flying animal with membranes on its wings instead of feathers, teeth in its mouth, generally red, and from four to seven feet across. “ (1)

My informant from Zimbabwe wrote the following, (which according to Richard Freeman sounds more like a Draco volans type animal:)

“ I haven`t seen the creature but I have came (sic) across an article which states that:-

1. The lizard is brownish grey in colur, very `simimlar to the Southern African Gekko. It has got a rough skin with gloss black eyes. Its tail is not all that long, when sensing danger the tail rises to a `C` shape.

2. The reptile has some wings which are attached to the back of its spine. These wings are not made of feathers but they are made of light bones and thin flesh like material similar to that of the bate (sic). These wings are not so big. When are not so big. When flying the tail is rolled upwards and the legs folded inwards.

3. The reptile likes the rocky mountainous areas, it is rearly (sic) seen because it is very scared (shy).Its normal travelling times are early in the morning and late sun-set. It feeds on insects, ants and some small lizards. During the winter I understand it stays indoors, so this means it collects some food and store (sic) in the mountains or rocks where it is housed for consumption during Winter.” (2)

Whereas Blogger is still malfunctioning, we are getting au fait enough with the work arounds for it not to matter unduly. The Bloggodex is now back up to date and - barring unforseen issues - will remain so. Why Blogger has unilaterally decided to delete paragraph and line breaks is beyond me, but it is now no more than a minor annoyance; irksome, but nothing more.

The Amazon.co.uk problem is more important; none of the books we have published this year have sold in anything like the numbers that they should. This ain't because the books we have produced are not up to our usual standards, but more probably because Amazon.co.uk have proclaimed that they will not be dispatched for several months.

Here the light does seem as if it may be at the end of the tunnel. Whereas three of the books that we have published this year do still have this irritating caveat stuck on their sales details, the fourth - Volume Two of John Hanson and Dawn Holloway's increasingly impressive Haunted Skies project has finally appeared as normal. Could this be the beginning of a return to normal? We certainly hope so.

The latest episode is finished, but - as of the time of writng (12:47) - it is steadfastly refusing to upload. I was trying until gone six this morning, and will try again all afternoon until it finally goes up. In the meantime please be forbearing...